Panchayati Raj is an insignificant provision of the Gandhian principle. However, the constitution did not obligate governments to constitute panchayats. Article 40 of the Indian Constitution only provided a Directive Principle of State Policy that said the state should organise village panchayats and give them the necessary powers and authority to function. However, this was not mandatory then.

With the 73^rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992, the modern Panchayati Raj was introduced in Indiato illuminate democracy at the grassroots level and was entrusted with rural development in the country.

It is enlisted in Part 9 of the Indian constitution. Articles 243 and 243A- 243O under this Part discuss rural local self-government.

The History of Panchayat Raj in India:

The Panchayati Raj system has an ancient origin in India.

• In the vedic era, the word ‘Panchayatan’ has been mentioned in many Sanskrit texts, which means a group of 5 persons who used to decide various affairs. In the Rigveda, we found evidence of Sabha, Samiti and Vidatha as local self-units.
• In epic era, the ‘Ramayana’ indicates that the administration was divided into 2 parts, viz. Pur (city) and Janpad (village). We also found the example of self-government of a village in the ‘Shanti Parva’ of the Mahabharata and in the Manu Smriti.

• In ancient times, village panchayats were mentioned in Kautilya’s Arthashastra.
• In the Medieval Period (Delhi sultanate), for the village administration, Mukkaddam (administrator), Choudhrie (disputes settler) and Patwaris (revenue collector) were appointed.
• Under British rule, village panchayats lost their autonomy and became weak. It was only in the year 1870 that India saw the dawn of representative local institutions.

Evolution of Panchayati Raj after Independence

The first Panchayati Panchayati Raj came up at Nagaur (Rajasthan) in 1959 as per the recommendations of the Balwant Rai Committee. This committee did far-reaching work in rural democracy, which brought Balwant Rai the title of “Father of Panchayati Raj.” Gradually, this system was adopted by other states like Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.

1. Balwant Rai Mehta Committee (1957)

1. In January 1957, the central government appointed a committee to inquire into the working of the National Extension Service and Community Development Programme and also asked for suggestions for their better working.
2. Balwant Rai G Mehta was the chairman of this committee. Under his chairmanship, the committee submitted its report in November 1957.
3. The committee recommended the establishment of ‘democratic decentralisation’.

Most of the recommendations of this committee were accepted by the National Development Council in January 1958. However, the council did not insist on a single rigid pattern for all the states. It left the decisions to the states to evolve their patterns suitable to respective local conditions without disrupting the basic principles and broad fundamentals of Panchayati Raj.

• For example, even today, West Bengal has adopted the 4-tier system, Rajasthan has adopted the 3-tier system, and Tamil Nadu has adopted the 2-tier system.

2. Ashok Mehta Committee (1977)

1. The Janata Government (December 1977) appointed a committee on panchayati raj under the chairmanship of Ashok Mehta, which submitted its report in August 1978.
   1. No action could be taken on the recommendations of the Ashok Mehta Committee as the Janata Government collapsed before the completion of its term.

3.G.V.K. Rao Committee (1985)

1. Under the chairmanship of G.V.K. Rao (appointed by the Planning Commission), a committee was appointed to look into existing administrative provisions for rural development and poverty alleviation programmes.
2. The committee came to the epilogue that the developmental process was gradually bureaucratised, which weakened the Panchayati Raj institutions, resulting in ‘grass without roots’.

4. L. M. Singhvi Committee (1986)

Under the chairmanship of L.M. Singhvi, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi appointed a committee to equip a concept paper on ‘Revitalisation of Panchayati Raj Institutions for Democracy and Development’.

5.Thungon Committee (1988)

A sub-committee under the Consultative Committee of Parliament was constituted under P.K. Thungon’s chairmanship to examine the district’s political and administrative structure for district planning.

6. Gadgil Committee (1988)

The Committee on Policy and Programmes was constituted under the chairmanship of V.N. Gadgil on how Panchayati Raj institutions could be effective. Its recommendations became the basis for drafting an amendment bill to confer constitutional status and protection to the Panchayati Raj institutions.

Constitutionalisation of Panchayati Raj

1.Rajiv Gandhi Government

• The 64th Constitutional Amendment Bill was presented in the Lok Sabha in July 1989 to constitutionalise panchayati raj institutions and make them more powerful and broad-based during Rajiv Gandhi’s government. As the Rajya Sabha did not approve it, the bill lapsed.

2. V.P. Singh Government

• After assuming office in 1989, under the Prime Ministership of V.P. Singh, the National Front Government announced that it would take steps to strengthen the Panchayati Raj institutions.
• In June 1990, a  conference of the all-state chief ministers was held under the chairmanship of V.P. Singh to discuss the issues relating to strengthening the Panchayati Raj institutions.
• The conference approved the proposals for introducing a fresh constitutional amendment bill.
• Further, a constitutional amendment bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in September 1990. However, the government’s fall resulted in the bill’s lapse.

3. Narasimha Rao Government

1. The Congress Government, under the prime ministership of P.V. Narasimha Rao, once again considered the matter of the constitutionalisation of panchayati raj bodies.
   • In September 1991, it drastically modified the proposals to obliterate the controversial aspects and introduced a fresh constitutional amendment bill in the Lok Sabha.
   • Finally, this bill arose as the 73rd Constitutional Amendment Act of 1992 and came into force on 24 April 1993.

This is how the Panchayati Raj and the urban local governance system developed in India as we know it today. In the next series of chapters we shall study how these systems practically function.